Review of Monarchwatch.org - a Wonderful Learning Website for All Ages

During the time in which my students were studying butterflies many approached "wanting to know more" than mere lesson plans could offer. Like the consummate teacher I am, I searched for an interesting website to visit so my kids could delve deeper into the life on butterflies.

In our search we were lucky enough to stumble upon http://www.monarchwatch.org/ and found within it a treasure trove of information about the monarch butterfly. The aforementioned site is maintained by the University of Kansas and is amazingly well maintained and easy to navigate. As my students were primarily those under the age of 10, I found this site not only to be one which offered extra information and educational bits about butterflies but was also set up in a way that was user friendly for even the youngest of students within my classroom.

With sections such as: "The Monarch Waystation" where they tell visitors how they can help the monarch continue flourishing, to the page on "Monarch Biology" which educates about the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly from the smallest of worm through the metamophsis stage and to finally the emerging butterfly. Also included were sections on the natural populations and enemies in the wild to the Monarch butterfly. And if that wasn't enough to make any educator smile from ear to ear, on this site is an area in which you can actually order seeds for the milkweed plant (a favorite of the Monarch Butterfly), T-shirts, videos and much more! In fact, a link was sent home with many of my students to this site and parents reported purchasing items after searching the site themselves proving that not only is it user friendly for students but parents as well.

Information on the site is also there to educate visitors as to the rearing of Monarch Butterflies and how to release them into the wild after they emerge. It is a wonderful site with many links to other Monarch information. In addition to the basic information, for those budding scientists out there...there are also research projects and curricula developed by Monarch Watch for K-2, 3-6 and Middle School age children.

Actually, just about anything you might need to know about the Monarch Butterfly is on this site and it is in fact, a site you can visit again and again and still find something new to experience. I encourage all parents to visit this site with your children and discuss the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly and its migration across the country. It is an amazing butterfly and one that deserves further study! Have fun and always remember to treat your Monarchs gently....they are fragile and have a long way to go on their migration!